


Second Chances

by rise_above_this



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BABIES MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER, Drama, F/M, Fluff, I can't help myself, Kid Bucky Barnes, Kid Fic, M/M, Minor Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Tumblr, civil war cancelled, deaged, everyone is great, family fic, friends - Freeform, i love bucky too much, my friend made me write this, my little pet project, sam Wilson is the greatest, scmoop, slight throwback to civil war, they do
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-07-12 00:03:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7076194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rise_above_this/pseuds/rise_above_this
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During the battle at the airport, Bucky is turned into a baby. Babies changes everything including everyones hearts and minds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I love deaged fics and I cannot lie. It needed to be written and if there is a good response to this I might write some more. So kudos or comments if you like it now onto the story...

They never thought it would come to this. Brother against brother. Friends against friend.

  
Baby against…Okay the baby was not part of the plan at all. The baby was a huge freaking plot twist that should not have happened and the entire airport that had been a huge battle scene suddenly went quiet and you could hear birds chirping and the crackling of fire from trucks that had been set alight courtesy of Tony Stark what could not be decided was who was responsible for turning one James Buchanan Barnes into a little baby.

  
“Aw come on man that’s not right.” Sam Wilson said dropping from the sky and walking towards the baby that was chewing on his metal arm. “Who did this?” He turned around accusingly at Team Ironman who looked at one another with the same confusion that was on Sam’s face.

  
“I was fighting with Cap.” Peter Parker said sounding way too proud of himself and then he looked at Tony. “He is from Brooklyn did you know that?” If Tony’s helmet was off you would see he was rolling his eyes so far back in his head he was almost blind.

  
“Be quiet the grown up’s are talking.” Rhodey interrupted and he again wondered where the, how the hell did Tony find this kid. “I was up in the air with Sam.” He continued and Sam gave him a thumbs up.

  
“I was fighting the little guy.” Natasha said with contempt as she glared at Scott who gave her a thumbs up as well and she gave him back the opposite of the peace sign and he looked away immediately as she took her finger and sliced it across her throat and mouthed. You are dead.

  
“Wanda and me were running from Tony’s missiles.” Clint added glaring at Tony and Steve squinted his eyes as he thought deeply.

  
“Well that leaves Vision and T’Challa unless you’re hiding more children around here with powers Tony.” Tony removed his mask and now his irritation was clear for all and sundry to see.

  
“Firstly Peter is not a child and secondly he came here on his own free will, kind of….sort of. The point is.” Tony was raising his voice higher and higher until T’Challa interrupted him.

  
“I was with James Barnes when he turned into a…” T’Challa looked down at Bucky who was really having a go at that metal arm of his. “Baby.”

  
“You did this to him! I don’t even care how you did it but this is low this fight just went to shit turn him back so we can continue KitKat.” Sam ordered.

  
“Be careful how you address me Wilson.” T’Challa ordered.

  
“Be careful how you address me Wilson.” Sam mimicked back in a tiny squeaky voice. “I don’t know how things work over in Wakadoodledandy or wherever you are from but over here we don’t turn opponents into babies fight like a man you giant pussycat.”

  
“I did not turn him into a baby! I don’t have that kind of technology I don’t know who even would.” T’Challa looked over at Tony who shook his head as he raised his hands.

  
“Don’t look at me my forte is science and mechanics not…” Tony struggled to find the right word as he looked at Bucky who was sitting up now and looking at all of them with big blue eyes. “Not baby stuff.”

  
“Okay so I am just supposed to believe nobody on your side has this capability and Bucky just turned into a baby on his own?” Steve asked.

  
“Maybe it’s a Hydra thing?” Natasha offered as she bent down to Bucky who offered her a big smile he pushed himself forward with great effort and was on all fours and slowly crawled over to her and when he was in front of her he lifted his hand to her. “Oh no I can’t.” She said her eyes going wide with concern, give her a couple of soldiers to throw down and she was your girl but the baby in front of her who wanted to be picked up was scaring her more than any enemy ever had.

  
“Nat he wants you to pick him up.” Steve said in a soft voice and as if to match the sentiment Bucky left out a bunch of baby talk and was still holding up his metal arm towards her.

  
“I can’t do this.” She lamented and Bucky stared at her with expectant eyes and dammit he was just too cute to resist and she groaned inwardly and pushed out her arms and lifted the baby under his arms and she held him out in front of her chest as he wiggled uncomfortably. “Okay now what?” She asked and everyone else laughed, but the second she glared at them they all stopped laughed because looks could definitely kill if it came from the Black Widow.

  
“Now.” Sam said with the utter patience of a saint as Bucky started whining and getting restless in her arms. “You pull him forward to your chest, yeah like that…wrap one arm around him…wow you really suck at this…sorry…okay now turn your arm slightly…oh jesus you’re going to drop him just give him here.” Sam said as his saintly patience ran out and before Sam could get to Bucky, T’Challa took Bucky with the care and finesse of someone who had done it a hundred times before.

  
“When you are royalty people like handing you babies for photos.” He offered as an excuse to all the confused faces that was looking at him. Bucky looked incredibly comfortable in T’Challa’s arms and Steve smiled a real smile and he held a hand out to Bucky who reached out and grasped one of Steve’s fingers tightly with both his chubby hands and pulled it towards his mouth.

  
“Hey buddy.” Steve whispered with love and adoration in his voice. This was a Bucky he had never met before a small tiny little thing with blue trusting eyes, smooth soft skin and the darkest long hair that covered his chubby face in ringlets. This was also a Bucky that Steve had not seen in a very long time, a happy one.

  
“Steve are you going to cry?” Tony asked and he got a quick elbow in the gut from Rhodey. “What?”

  
“There is a time and a place for everything anyone ever tell you that?”

  
“Your’re supposed to be on my side.” Tony looked over as Natasha had overcome her general fear of Bucky and was stroking his hair and T’Challa was rocking the baby in his arms as Steve let Bucky chew on his finger.

  
“Our side has been compromised by a baby.” Rhodey informed him. “The same baby we were supposed to take prisoner.” Tony sighed long and hard and then cleared his throat and everyone turned to him with raised eyebrows.

  
“Okay as sweet and adorable as this Kodak moment is we need to remember why we are here, we are here to take Barnes back into custody where he belongs, he is a wanted fugitive let’s not lose sight of that just because he is a baby.

  
“Who is the cutest little fugitive ever?” Natasha asked squeezing Bucky’s chubby rosy cheeks between her fingers and he gurgled with happiness. “Yes you are! Yes you are the cutest little fugitive ever!”

  
“Oh Jesus he broke Nat.” Tony said.

  
“I think he broke everyone…look at Vision’s face is he fucking smiling?” Rhodey asked.

  
“Yeah…yeah he is.” And Tony shook his head. Enough was enough. And this was over the edge of enough. “Guys! Okay we need to reach a decision here Steve are you going to sign those accords?”

  
“Nope. Not now not ever.” Cap replied as he took Bucky from T’Challa.

  
“Is anybody willing to sign the accords?” Tony asked.

  
“Enough with the accords dude give it a rest.” Clint said.

  
“I’ll sign it Mr. Stark.” Peter offered and Tony didn’t even bother to answer he simply shook his head and walked over to Steve.

  
“This doesn’t have to end in a fight.” Tony told Steve diplomatically. “If you aren’t going to sign then hand Barnes over.”

  
“Seriously Tony he is a baby! And we don’t even know why he is a baby?” Steve said and Tony reached out to snatch Bucky but Wanda lifted her hands and with the power and force of her mind she propelled Tony back and froze him in place.

  
“Seriously!” Tony screamed. And the sudden loud voices seem to upset Bucky who did what babies did best he let out a howling loud cry.

  
“Wanda stop!” Steve ordered.

  
“Are you sure?” She asked and he nodded as she let go of Tony.

  
“You want Bucky?” Steve asked with a smile. “Here you go!” Steve handed the crying baby over and Tony tried to protest but before he knew it Bucky was in his arms and he was crying like he was being paid to do it.

  
“Take him back.” Tony ordered and Steve stepped back laughing.

  
“I am just doing what you told me to do, you wanted Bucky now you have him congratulations.”

  
“Nat can I get some help here?” Tony asked as he tried his best to cradle the restless and crying bundle of non joy in his arms.

  
“I only want happy babies near me not that screaming banshee, I didn’t sign up for that make it stop please.” She said covering her ears.

  
“Rhodey?” Tony asked looking at his friend who held up his hands.

  
“No thanks buddy you are on your own.”

  
Tony rocked Bucky in his arms.

  
“All my friends are assholes Bucky every single one of them.” He sang to the tune of what sounded like a nursery rhyme. “I hate them all. I hate them all now please stop crying you little shit.”

  
“Really Tony?” Clint asked and he stepped forward and took Bucky from him and Tony looked instantly relieved.

  
“Awww Bucky you need to stop crying kiddo.” Clint said turning on his real superpower and that was being a dad. He held Bucky against his chest and dropped a warm kiss on his forehead. “Everything’s okay baby sshhh everything’s alright. There, there little guy.” He looked down at Bucky and with one hand he wiped away the glassy shiny tears that had run down Bucky’s face. “Sshh there, there everything is okay, you’re okay. No one is going to hurt you Bucky baby.” Clint rocked Bucky until the baby’s cries were soothed.

  
“He looks like he’s going to fall asleep if anyone of you so much as breathes too hard I will punch you in the face with an arrow.” Clint looked up from Bucky and looked at the collective faces who stared back at him with admiration.

  
“You’re so good with him.” Natasha said and her voice broke a little. “You’re such a good dad Clint and I am sorry for all of this crap today I wouldn’t want your kids not to have their dad around because of something that could have gone wrong here.”

  
“To answer your earlier question Nat, yeah we’re still friends.” He said with a smile and she came rushing over to hug him and he held up his hand halting her to stop. “He’s falling asleep we can hug it out later.” He looked down at Bucky who was calm now and had stuck a thumb into his mouth and was sucking on it gently, his eyes were growing heavy. “Don’t fight it baby.” Clint whispered planting a kiss on Bucky’s forehead.

  
“We appear to have reached an impasse.” Vision spoke up. And Tony looked up at his hovering team mate and put a finger to his lips. “My apologies Stark.”

“Vision is right what do we do now?” Rhodey said in a quieter tone of voice. “We can’t take a baby back what the hell might they do to him?”

“I can take him back to my country I have the technology and a team of highly qualified scientists who can look at him and determine why this has happened to James.” T’Challa spoke up.

  
“And then what do you do afterwards kill him for something he didn’t do?” Steve demanded.

  
“He killed my father.”

  
“He didn’t kill your father!”

“Guys.” Clint said through gritted teeth. “If you don’t shut the hell up I am going to kill you both.” In his arms Bucky had finally succumbed to sleep and he was holding on tightly to Clint’s vest as though he was afraid Clint would let him go.

  
“Okay no offense your highness but Bucky isn’t going to Wakanda. We’ll take him to Stark Towers and there we can figure out what is wrong with him.” Tony said and for the first time his voice wasn’t filled with anger or contempt it was resigned like he had given up on every ideology that had brought him there in the first place.

  
“And then what?” Sam asked.

  
“And then if we fix him Sam we can figure out the next step okay.” Tony said.

“I don’t like this.” Sam spoke with brute honesty.

“Do you have any other ideas smart guy? Huh? Right now we are the only people you have that is on your side.” Sam let out a laugh that contained no humor whatsoever. He turned his eyes on Tony. Eyes that had gone dead and hard.

  
“Bucky is important to Steve and that makes him important to me. A couple of minutes ago you and Hello Kitty were ready to kill him. Now both of you are just eager beavers to help, do you see how that doesn’t sit well with me?” Steve placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder and squeezed it tightly.

  
“Sam, I hate to admit this but Tony is right. We have no one else we can ask for help we’re out of our depth here.”

  
“But Steve.” Sam protested and Steve smiled, because no matter his reservations about Bucky or the other man Bucky was, Sam cared deeply about him simply because Steve did and it meant everything to Steve in a world where everyone was against his best friend.

  
“We’re going to have to trust them. For now.” Steve said and Sam took his time but he nodded.

  
“What are you going to tell Ross?” Steve asked Tony. “That’s who you report to now right?” Tony bit down his words about that last sentence.

  
“I will tell him that I couldn’t find you.”

  
“That simple? Just you can’t find us. Will he believe you?” Steve asked.

  
“He doesn’t have a choice in that matter. If he believes us good for us if he doesn’t too bad.” Tony said with a devil may care attitude. “Let’s all get the hell out of here before special forces show up or before that thing starts crying again.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it turns out there are a few people out there who wanted more of this story I am so glad I am not the only one

Turns out that Ross did not buy Tony’s feeble story that they simply could not locate Steve and company at all. Nobody was really surprised and after some more bullshit spewed from Tony they found themselves in the clear to escape with baby Bucky on one of Stark’s first available private jets and headed back to the States.

  “You said this was an emergency.” Pepper Potts said the moment Tony walked into Stark Towers as she squinted at him, her arms were crossed over her chest. She looked at Tony like she always did, like she was really tired of him and exhausted of all his endless dramas and dragging her into it. He looked like he couldn’t care any less he was just really grateful and happy to see her. He had been worried that she would not answer his call but she had taken it and here she was now in front of him, annoyed sure but she was there, that was all that mattered.

  “This _is_ an emergency. I wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t.” He told her and she was about to tell him that his entire life was some kind of emergency and then she saw who was behind him and she brightened up immediately as she saw the rest of what had once been some of the Avengers. He wished she had been able to save that kind of smile for him but he had burned the bridges between them and he wasn’t sure how he was going to fix that just yet.  

  “I thought you guys were all up in arms and fighting and not getting along what the hell are you all doing together?” Bucky spoke up for everyone when he let out a loud squeal because Sam had pulled a face at him after a nine hour flight back to the United States it turned out that Bucky’s favorite game involved Sam playing peekaboo or Sam pulling faces at Bucky. Ten hours later Bucky still liked this game better than anything else in the world and even Sam didn’t look like he was growing tired of it anytime soon.

  “What the hell is that?” Pepper asked looking at Clint who had the baby slumped over his shoulder, the baby who was making grabby hands as he reached desperately for Sam who once again stuck out his tongue and the reward was an even bigger smile on Bucky’s face.

  “That,is a baby.” Tony told Pepper with a poker face like maybe she didn’t know what a baby was.

  “I know what it _is_ , I mean why do you guys have a baby?”

  “Sam do you mind taking Bucky?” Clint asked because even though he really loved holding Bucky and was the only one who was comfortable handling the kid he needed a break.

  “Bucky?” Pepper asked. “As in…” She couldn’t finish the sentence the words forming in her head were far too absurd. And she had been dealing a whole lot with absurd ever since Tony became Iron Man and then there was the Avengers and it had just all been one long never ending cascading ride of absurdity that she had recently climbed off from and now found herself back in the middle of the ride all over again.

  “As in James Buchanan Barnes.” Steve finished Pepper’s sentence for her as he watched  Sam take Bucky from Clint and Bucky clasped Sam’s sweater with his metal arm and reached skin too and squeezed too tightly and Sam let out a little yelp. Baby or not. The metal arm was still a weapon.

  “Owwww, I swear he keeps doing that because I wouldn’t move my seat up for him back in Germany.” Sam scowled and Bucky looked at him with a smile that might have said _you can bet your ass that is right Sam Wilson_ if Bucky wasn’t a baby right now. “If you’re big again.” Sam said digging a finger into Bucky’s sides that had Bucky laughing. “Payback is going to be a B-I-T-C-H.” Sam spelled the word out.

  “You know he is a baby and he doesn’t actually know what you’re saying.” Natasha said.

  “He is a baby who until a day ago was a trained assassin who could speak multiple languages who knows what he can and cannot still do.” Sam contested.

  “Enough!” Pepper ordered clapping her hands together which was a really bad idea and everyone else seemed to realize it and they all turned towards Bucky with apprehension like he was a bomb that was ready to go off. Like somehow someone had just whispered all the trigger words from Bucky’s red ledger and he would transform into the winter soldier. They all stood quietly watching and then there it was. No longer did it take trigger words to affect Bucky. They had all discovered that it just took really loud screaming or talking or loud noises and there it was. Bucky’s bottom lip trembled.

“Oh no.” Sam said. “Bucky don’t you do it, don’t you dare do it.” He begged bouncing Bucky up and down in his arms and pulled the most ridiculous faces that if it was any other moment the rest of them would be laughing but they were waiting for it and were hardly able to breathe. All eyes were just watching Bucky.

  “Give him his Binky.” Wanda said quickly.

“His Binky?” Pepper asked and honestly she didn’t even know why she was asking questions anymore because nothing was making sense and now they were talking about Bucky’s Binky. And she wondered why she had even bothered answering Tony’s phone call at all.

  “I had it here somewhere.” Natasha said scratching around what was a SHIELD bag but when she opened it and pulled out the contents it was most definitely a baby bag. Somewhere Nicky Fury was rolling around in his empty grave.

  “I told you to attach it to his bib so he always have it.” Clint said sounding annoyed.

  “Oh I am so sorry Clint this is only my very first baby mission excuse me for being a little out of my depth…found it!” Natasha shouted like she had just won the lottery and then she realized the error in her jubilation and she looked over at Bucky whose lower lip was still curled downward.

  “There’s your Binky! Look at what I got it’s your Binky Bucky! Yay!” Natasha said holding up the pacifier for Bucky to see and it was T’Challa who held her back and cleared his throat.

  “According to Clint you have to rinse it before giving it to him.” Clint looked over at T’Challa with a proud smile at least someone was listening to him even if it was the someone who had said on their first meeting that he didn’t care who Clint was.

  “Do I have to?” Natasha asked throwing her whole body into a slump. “He is about to cry if he doesn’t get his pacifier do we really want that?”

  “Yes you have to, we do not want James to be infected with germs from a dirty Binky.” If T’Challa wasn’t royalty and this wasn’t a matter of urgency everyone would have been laughing the moment he said the word Binky which sounded utterly ridiculous coming from his mouth.

  “Yeah cause you know being turned into a baby isn’t the worst thing that has happened to him.” Scott spoke up. Pepper turned to him and he smiled giving her a nod of his head and a wave.

  “Who the heck is he?” Pepper asked.

  “I have been asking myself the same question ever since I met him.” Tony said with a tiresome sigh.

  “Come on man Scott…Scott Lang…aka…Antman.”

“Aka TicTac.” Sam added as he raised Bucky in his arms, Bucky whose lip had stopped quivering and his eyes were following Natasha where she was rinsing the pacifier under the tap in the in the kitchen.

  “Nat you want to hurry up this little guy is looking at you with hungry eyes.” He told her.

  “He needs to learn about patience.” She said.

  “He is a baby I doubt that is a lesson he will be learning any time soon.” T’Challa said watching her run over.

  “Here’s your Binky.” Natasha said proudly and Bucky reached out and grabbed it with the metal arm making cheerfully happy noises. “Oh he loves that thing.” Nat whispered as he opened his mouth and immediately began sucking on it.

  “He is so cute.” Wanda said.

  “I just want to squish your chubby little cheeks.” Nat said through grated teeth and Bucky smiled around the pacifier in his mouth and laid his head against Sam’s chest.

  “Okay, now will someone please explain to me why the world’s most wanted fugitive is a baby?” Pepper asked and again her voice was too loud and Sam stroked Bucky’s back in circles.

  “Pepper you mind keeping your voice down? Bucky doesn’t like loud noises or voices on the flight over here Steve and Tony got into an argument and he cried for about a half hour straight I really do not want to live through that again. Not even my epic facial contortions would knock him out of that screaming fit.” Sam said.

  “I still have a headache.” Scott lamented and he saw how Tony was looking at him and he held up his hands. “I said nothing.”

  “Okay so Bucky doesn’t like loud noises I will keep that in mind for future references now why is Bucky a baby?” Pepper asked.

  “We do not know why. That is the truth we were fighting he and I and then suddenly he was just a baby.” T’Challa spoke up looking at Bucky with a touch of sadness.

  “And you told Ross about this?” Pepper asked Tony.

 “Hell no, we didn’t because we didn’t want them to take Bucky in and start having an experimentation party when he is just a baby.” Tony told her.

  “Isn’t that what you are going to do?” Clint asked.

  “Yeah but we aren’t the Government.”

“Says the guy who signed the accords and is knee deep in the Government’s pocket.” Clint mused as he took out what baby supplies they had managed to pick up before heading off on their flight.

 “Okay you know what I’ve had enough of this shit! I am not going to apologize for doing that so stop holding it over my damn head and secondly if I wanted to I could have told Ross exactly what happened but I didn’t look where the hell you are Clint! Look where Bucky is. Look where that innocent baby is, he is in the safest place he could be right now.” Tony’s tirade lifted Bucky’s head off from Sam’s chest and his Binky fell from his mouth and no amount of face pulling or cute voices was going to stop the storm that was coming. When Bucky cried he really got into it.

“F-U-C-K you Stark.” Sam said as he tried to lull Bucky back but Bucky wasn’t having any of it.

  “I didn’t mean…” Tony shook his head it was all in vain, he had upsetted Bucky who was now a tight ball of pure fear and had turned red as he used his lungs to full compacity.

  “How can something that small make so much noise?” Natasha wondered out loud. “I still don’t get it.”

  “How can someone we specifically told not to make noise, make so much noise?” T’Challa asked staring squarely at Stark who looked again like he could do nothing right and it really was starting to feel that way lately. Nothing he was doing was right.

Even this mishap now he should have handled better he should have remembered about being quiet around the baby but Clint’s words had affected him more than he would have liked them to. And again he got carried away in the moment without thinking.

  “Give him here.” Tony whispered holding out his arms.

  “You’ve done enough damage get away from him.” Steve said stepping forward and taking Bucky from Sam.

 Steve walked away from them and headed to the nearest window. He cradled Bucky tenderly in his arms whispering over and over in Bucky’s ear that it was okay. That he should stop crying. That he should stop crying because it was killing Steve little by little every single time hearing the desperate sobbing.

  “Everyone that is not Steve or Tony please leave.” Pepper ordered. And they all knew better than to argue with her, even T’Challa who looked lost got himself lost as he followed Wanda.

  “What the hell are you doing?” She whispered at Tony when more importantly she wanted to know why he had called her in the first place.

  “My theme, screwing things up can’t you tell?” He looked over at Steve who wasn’t paying any attention to them he was too busy trying to calm Bucky down.

  “This isn’t a joke Tony.”

  “I am very aware of that. Our fugitive is a baby, prior to being a baby we were all ready to beat the ever living crap out of each other. God if Fury could see us now.” He whispered.

  “It started a long time before this and you and I both know it. It started when Steve began keeping secrets from you about his best friend. And that is why you called me you want me to be a buffer between you and Steve.” He looked at her with a sad smile.

  “Was it that obvious?” He asked.

  “You said it was an emergency and it turns out to be a baby, what the hell do I know about babies? I do know you and Steve have a lot to work out and it has nothing to do with politics. You better fix this while there is a chance.”

  “I feel like it’s already at a point where we can’t fix it.” He said and she punched him hard against his arm and he looked at her rubbing at the spot that actually hurt way too much.

  “For a smart guy you’re really dumb. For whatever reason Bucky was turned into a baby, I can’t believe I actually said that sentence but whatever, he turned into a baby and look nobody is fighting you’re all under one roof, you have had to get a long whether you like it or not if that doesn’t say things are still fixable I don’t know what the hell does.”

  “You are the smartest woman I have ever met in my life have I ever told you that?” He asked.

  “Yeah you may have mentioned it a million times before and actually I have missed hearing it.” She said with a smile that he matched.

  “I missed you a lot Pepper.”

  “That’s wonderful we can share and care later right now, you have some serious PR work to do with those two.” She said nodding at Steve and Bucky.

  “What do I do?” He asked. She picked up one of Bucky’s bottles and she had a mischievous smile on her face he was about to ask her what she was thinking and he didn’t think he liked it at all but she beat him by speaking up so Steve would hear.

  “That’s a great idea give Bucky his bottle Tony.” She said handing him the bottle of milk and then she was gone before he could even comprehend what she had done he turned around and looked at Steve who stared at him with a confused look on his face.

_Crap._

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that. Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Tony stood in his tracks and didn’t move as he listened to how quiet everything had suddenly gotten, even Bucky had quieted down and it felt like there was a huge spotlight on them. Tony looked down at the bottle and it felt like it was weighed down by a thousand gallons of milk. Damn you Pepper you were supposed to stick around and not leave him alone to his own devices what kind of wing woman was she Tony thought? A funny one, he figured she was probably laughing her ass off right now at his expense.

Tony sighed. He looked down at the bottle of milk and Pepper was right, of course she was right she was always right she would be telling him had she heard him.

Bucky being turned into a baby had stopped them all from fighting. And here they were all together, working towards keeping the kid a secret. This he decided had happened for a reason and he had the chance to rectify what had gone wrong between them in the past.

He forced himself to walk across the room to Bucky and Steve. And it felt like the bottle was weighing more and more in his hand and he felt irrationally nervous. Pull yourself together he barked to himself.

  “I have some expensive wine and whiskies around here, but apparently the most sought after bottle is a bottle of baby formula.” Tony said in an easy going voice looking at the bottle of milk. He finally looked up at Steve who didn’t so much as crack a smile.  _Okay_  this was going to be so much harder than he had imagined and he wished that Pepper was there and hadn’t run off to who knew where. “Is he okay?” Tony asked looking at Bucky whose head rested in the soft curve of Steve’s neck, the metal arm that didn’t belong on any baby was holding onto Steve’s sweater tightly.

  “Define okay Tony.” Steve snapped and Tony nodded in agreement, that had been a dumb question, how could it be okay when Bucky was a baby and a fugitive, a murder suspect, how the hell was anything going to be okay right now.

  “I’m trying here.” Tony admitted in what sounded like a defeat. One that he wasn’t happy about acknowledging but he couldn’t see himself and Steve play this game back and forth any longer, it was going to get them nowhere. He was waving his white flag and he was hoping Steve could see that. “Okay, Steve, I am trying, I am sorry I upsetted him things are bad enough I am very aware of that, it wasn’t my intention to make it worse.”

Steve said nothing and Tony was about to walk away and just give up, this was useless; it was going to take a lot more for them to get back on common ground. A whole lot more time, there was no quick fix. But Bucky lifted his head up from where it had been nestled against Steve’s neck, he released his hand from Steve’s sweater and held out his hand towards the bottle that was in Tony’s hand and he simultaneously spat out his beloved Binky that fell to the ground. And finally there was a smile on Steve’s face.

  “Clint was right we need to tie Binky to his clothing I am not going to rinse that thing every time.” He whispered lifting Bucky higher in his arms so they were face to face and he planted a kiss on the side of Bucky’s face.

  “I don’t know about you, but I am not telling Clint he was right about something, even if he is right about something.” Tony said picking up the pacifier from the floor. “Listen here young man you need to learn not to spit Binky out whenever you feel like it.” Bucky waved his arms around and began to whine because what he really wanted now was his damn bottle and not a lecture.

  “Okay, okay you’re hungry we get that.”

  “He was always impatient.” Steve said.

“Yeah? Well around here we don’t just go falling around at your beck and call okay Bucky.” Tony said and then Bucky pulled his face like he was going to cry again and Tony moved quickly to shove the bottle towards Bucky and Steve burst out laughing.

  “I thought we don’t go falling around at his beck and call?” Steve asked taking the bottle and holding it towards Bucky’s mouth and Bucky pulled it closer and sucked at it hungrily.

  “Did you see that face he was making he was ready to cry again and nobody wants that.” Tony mumbled giving Bucky’s dark hair a quick stroke. He watched Steve trying to feed Bucky and Tony thought how incredibly cute this looked and then he shook his head and cleared his throat.

  “You’re holding him wrong.” Tony said.

  “Oh am I?” Steve inquired turning to Tony. He knew he was holding Bucky wrong because most of the milk was running down Bucky’s chin he didn’t need Tony to tell him.

  “Yeah, because he is getting more milk down his sweater than in his mouth Steven where the milk belongs.” Tony  reached out and wiped the mix of drool and milk that was running down Bucky’s chin away with his hand.

  “Oh so now you’re the expert on babies? I thought it was Clint?” Steve said. “So why don’t you show me?” Tony took Bucky who didn’t fight the change of his hands as long as the bottle was stuck in his mouth. Tony sat down on the couch and held Bucky in his lap letting Bucky rest back against his arm and Bucky held onto the bottle with both hands even though Tony was holding it and he drank happily. Tony looked up at Steve with a smile that said  _I told you so_  and Steve rolled his eyes at him.

  “And that’s how it’s done.” Tony announced.  “I’m not saying I am good at this but I am kinda good at this. Isn’t that so?” He asked looking down at Bucky whose eyes sparkled as he stared at the attention Tony gave him.

  “Oh great he agrees.” Steve whispered going over to Bucky’s baby bag and he got a packet of wet wipes from it and his mind froze suddenly as thoughts overcame him and Tony saw it. And felt the moment slip away between them, the moment that had been so easy. They had been talking like the good old days before everything had gone wrong, before they had slipped away between each others fingers, until they completely lost grip and fell divided.

  “What’s going on in that head of yours?” Tony asked and Steve walked towards them shaking his head and he sat down beside Tony and reached out and wiped away the milk that had spilled down Bucky’s neck.

  “He is going to have to take a bath.” Steve said and there was a faraway look in his eyes like he was no longer there.

  “Steve what is going on?” Tony asked again hoping to reach Steve. Beckoning him to say something. Anything.

  “I found him living in an apartment in Budapest, it was small, rundown, he had a few things laying around and honestly it didn’t even look like it was anyone’s home.” Steve said reaching out and gripping Bucky’s small feet that laid across Tony’s lap. Feet that fit easily in the palm of his hand. “And I am looking at all the things we picked up for him in what an hour back in Germany and it’s more than what Bucky has had in God knows how long.” For a long time neither of them said anything.

  “I’m going to do everything in my power to fix him.” Tony finally spoke up. Steve looked up at Tony and what pain had been in his eyes as he thought of what kind of life Bucky had lived was replaced by something cold. And that coldness was directed solely at Tony.

“Yeah? And then what Tony? I keep thinking that and I know you’re thinking that, if you fix him and he is himself what then what are you going to do?” Steve demanded.

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “You’re lying. You already know what you’re going to do. ” Tony looked down at the baby that was looking up at him with nothing but trust and innocence. It was that unabashed innocence that you could not escape. He was just a child. It was impossible to comprehend that there was another person who this child could be. Who this child  _had_  been.

  “He killed…” Tony wasn’t allowed to finish the sentence.

  “He told me he doesn’t do it anymore. I believe him. He also said that, that so called doctor had gotten into his head and managed to trigger the Winter soldier when he escaped.”

  “What?” Tony asked.

  “That was no damn doctor back in Germany, he knew exactly what words to use to get Bucky to relapse and become the Winter soldier again.” Steve looked at Bucky and he felt the coldness in his voice slip. “For two years I looked for him. Sam and I, and never not once did we manage to find any trace of him because he was just living his life. Trying to live his life. He wasn’t a danger to anyone and suddenly this happens with the UN bombing and then we have some quasi doctor showing up?”

  “You looked for him for two years?” Tony asked which sounded more like an accusation than a question. An accusation laced with betrayal and the loss of trust. “You and Sam? Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

  “I’m telling you now.”

  “Who else knew?” Tony didn’t wait for an answer he already knew it. “Nat?”

  “Tony I don’t want to get into this right now.”

  “Ah she did know! This just gets better and better.”

 “It’s not as straightforward as you think, it’s complicated. And it doesn’t matter right now what does matter is I need you to realize that what you’re thinking of doing to him if you fix him, what T’Challa is thinking of doing to him is wrong, he is the victim here and that doctor whoever the hell he is, is behind all of this.” Tony wanted to go into why things were complicated and why it didn’t matter at the moment. Why Steve had kept a secret like Bucky from him for two years but Sam and Natasha was privy to the information. But Steve didn’t allow him to ask when he whispered. “I need you.” And Tony felt his anger at being lied to slip.

  “That conversation isn’t over I want answers maybe not right now but I want the truth, everything.”

 Steve took a long time to answer but he nodded.

  “Deal.”

  “Good.” Tony said. “So the moment that doctor spoke some words.” Steve cut him short.

  “Don’t make it sound like it’s stupid or hard to believe.” He snapped at him.

  “That wasn’t my intention I am trying to figure out the details!” In Tony’s arms Bucky stirred and spat the bottle out. “You have got to stop doing that. You can’t just spit things out when you’re done with it. You think you’re cute and you can just get away with this behavior.” Tony said with what was kindness he couldn’t hide.  And Bucky smiled a toothless grin at Tony.

  “He likes you.” Steve said and Tony snorted.

  “What’s not to like?” He asked and there it was again that feeling that things felt like it used to and Tony wished it could stay that way except he was  sitting with a baby on his lap and it was a reality they were not going to escape any time soon. “So, these words?” Tony questioned.

 “There are trigger words that said in sequence turns Bucky back into Hydra’s weapon.” Steve whispered and Tony stared at Steve in surprise.

“Words? That’s it?”

  “That’s all it takes.”

  “Do you know what it is?” Tony asked.

  “Bucky knew them, we didn’t get into it unfortunately. Why?” Bucky squirmed restlessly on Tony’s lap and he put Bucky down on the carpet who immediately went crawling across the room.

“Because, if we say it now, will the baby turn into an angry little winter soldier?” Tony asked with grim seriousness and Steve laughed hard even though it wasn’t funny and Bucky looked over his shoulder at Steve and smiled like he was in on the joke.

  “Why are you laughing?” Tony continued. “This is damn serious. I need to know what to do with an angry baby? Does he scream louder?”Tony looked over at Steve horrified.  “Is that even possible?”

“Does he want a bigger Binky?”

“Stop!” Steve said but his voice was layered with laughter and he didn’t sound like he meant it at all. This was the first good laugh he had in way too long.

  “Should we run for cover does he shoot at us with a water pistol?” Tony was relentless in his teasing to lighten this moment.

  “Seriously stop.” Steve said and he was still laughing. And Tony stopped the teasing and wore a smile of his own on his face. They watched Bucky in silence. Steve reached over to the baby bag and picked up a soft brown bear that Natasha had picked especially for Bucky. Steve squeezed one of the bear’s paws and it let out a cheerful “Hello” that immediately drew Bucky’s attention.

  “Is that all that thing does?” Tony asked unimpressed but Bucky was very impressed and he came crawling back to them quickly laughing, his eyes were set on one thing and one thing only the teddy bear.

  “Tony it’s a kid’s toy what do you want it to do? Wait! Stop!” Steve shouted because he could literally see the wheels turning in Tony’s brain.

  “That thing should be Tony Starkirized.” Tony took the bear from Steve and held in his hand. “Yeah I can see it now.”

  “You’re crazy.” Steve said.

  “The word you’re looking for is _brilliant_.” Bucky was at Tony’s feet and held up both his hands for the bear. And when Tony didn’t comply he pulled at Tony’s jeans with the metal arm that Bucky had some idea of that it was stronger he just didn’t realize how much stronger it was. “Ouch! That arm is a menace.” Tony whispered giving Bucky the bear and he grabbed it to his chest and hugged it tightly.

  “What if it’s the arm?” Tony said watching it with fascination. “It’s the one thing Hydra made that we don’t know anything about and it’s right here in front of us. Who knows what is going on with that thing.”

  “What the heck are you saying?” Steve felt a shiver of panic go up his spine as he stared at it too.

  “We need to take him into medical and have x-rays done right now.” And Tony had the same panic in his voice now.

  “What if it is his arm?” Steve asked as Tony got up on his feet quickly and picked Bucky up. “Tony? If it’s the arm…” He couldn’t finish the sentence.

  “We will have to remove it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean to throw in removing poor Bucky's arm but things happen and I have no control over this story or characters. I don't know much about Bucky's arm so I am going to make things up where that is concerned and I worried about that but I remembered that Marvel made Cap a Nazi in the current run of comics so I didn't feel so bad anymore. #saynotohydracrap!!   
> I hope you enjoyed that chapter thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked that if you did lemme know. Take care and thanks for reading!


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